Australian beer drinkers could see the price of a pint double due to climate change, experts have warned.

Rising temperatures and changing weather patterns are making droughts and heatwaves more common and it is having a devastating impact on barley fields around the world.

Barley is a key ingredient in beer and could soon become a rarity thanks to plummeting yields.

Experts are now warning that this barley shortage could force the price of a pint to double.

Barley, a key ingredient in beer, could become a rarity thanks to plummeting yields caused by climate change.

According to some estimates Barley yields could drop by as much as 17 per cent.

Australia is ranked 23rd for its global beer consumption, with Australians consuming the equivalent of 71.4 litres of beer annually, per capita, and already has some of the most expensive beer prices in the world.

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Prices vary across the country with the average pint of beer costing Sydneysiders around $8,and Melbourne residents about $9.

But a global temperature rise of of 1.5°C-2.5°C (2.7°F- 4.5°F) is expected to cause a price increase of 10-15 per cent.

Under current trends, the world is on course to rise in temperature by 3°C (5.4°F), although the UN-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned last week that limiting warming to under 1.5°C (2.76°F) would avert the worst effects of climate change.

Australia is ranked 23rd for its global beer consumption even though it has some of the most expensive beer in the world

A global temperature rise of of 1.5°C-2.5°C (2.7°F- 4.5°F) is expected to cause a price increase of 10-15 per cent.

Under current trends, the world is on course to rise in temperature by 3°C (5.4°F), although the UN-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned last week that limiting warming to under 1.5°C (2.76°F) would avert the worst effects of climate change.

Research co-author Dr Steven Davis, from the University of California at Irvine in the US, said: 'The world is facing many life-threatening impacts of climate change, so people having to spend a bit more to drink beer may seem trivial by comparison.

'But there is definitely a cross-cultural appeal to beer, and not having a cool pint at the end of an increasingly common hot day just adds insult to injury.'

Only 17 per cent of the barley produced in the world is used in brewing, the authors point out, as most is harvested as feed for livestock.

Beer could become far more expensive as heatwaves and droughts destroy the essential crop - barley - which is needed for successful brewing of the popular alcoholic drink (stock)

The researchers predicted that hungry animals would be first in the queue for available barley, ahead of thirsty humans.

Barley growing regions including the northern Great Plains of the US, the Canadian prairies, Europe, Australia, and the Asian steppe were all likely to experience more frequent droughts in years to come as a result of global warming.

Beer prices were predicted to rise most in wealthy beer-loving countries such as Belgium, Canada, Denmark and Poland.

Co-author Dr Nathan Mueller, also from the University of California at Irvine, said: 'Current levels of fossil fuel consumption and CO2 (carbon dioxide) pollution - business as usual - will result in this worst-case scenario, with more weather extremes negatively impacting the world's beer basket.

'Our study showed that even modest warming will lead to increases in drought and excessive heat events in barley-growing areas.'

Droughts and heat waves were expected to cause barley declines of up to 17 per cent in parts of the US, Europe, Australia and Asia where the grain is grown most.

The potential average yield losses range from three per cent to 17 per cent depending on the severity of the conditions. Decreases in the global supply of barley lead to proportionally larger decreases in barley used to make beer (stock)

The study also found that consumption of beer could drop by between 0.65 billion and 2.34 billion pints (0.37 to 1.33 billion litres) in the UK alone.

Lager drinkers across the Atlantic could also be affected as the US consumption is predicted to fall by up to 3.48 billion litres.

Professor of climate change economics Dabo Guan at the the University of East Anglia said: 'Increasingly research has begun to project the impacts of climate change on world food production, focusing on staple crops such as wheat, maize, soybean, and rice.

'However, if adaptation efforts prioritise necessities, climate change may undermine the availability, stability and access to 'luxury' goods to a greater extent than staple foods.

'People's diet security is equally important to food security in many aspects of society.

'Although some attention has been paid to the potential impacts of climate change on luxury crops such as wine and coffee, the impacts on beer have not been carefully evaluated.

'A sufficient beer supply may help with the stability of entertainment and communication in society.'

WHEN DID HUMANS START DRINKING BEER?

Humans have had a long history of consuming alcohol.

It is believed the primitive cultures of Mesopotania could have been brewing malted barley scraps as far back as 10,000BC but there are no records of it.

The earliest proof of beer-drinking dates back to Northern China 9,000 years ago.

This ancient brew was made using hawthorn fruit, Chinese wild grapes, rice and honey, and is the oldest known fermented beverage in history - older even than wine.

The earliest proof of beer-drinking dates back to Northern China 9,000 years ago

To make it the corn was milled and moistened in the maker’s mouth to convert starches in the corn into fermentable sugars - before it was ‘spat’ into the beer.

Throughout history, the consumption of alcohol may have helped people become more creative, advancing the development of language, art and religion.

This is because alcohol lowers inhibitions and makes people feel more spiritual.

It is believed the Egyptians started brewing beer around 5,000BC, according to the papyrus scrolls.

They were brewing things like dates, pomegranates and other indigenous herbs.

At around 3150 BC, the Egyptians used industrial-scale breweries to provide beer for the workers who built the pyramids of Giza.

Eventually beer made its way from the Middle East to Europe where an abundance of barley crops provided lots of raw ingredient for brewers.

Experts have now found evidence of brewing in Greece during the Bronze Age.

Researchers believe that these prehistoric people enjoyed getting merry with alcoholic drinks for feasts all year-round and not just when the grapes were ripe.

Not only was it considered nutritional it was also a safe alternative to drinking water.

It was in the Middle Ages that malted barley became the main source of fermented sugar and beer became the beverage we are familiar with today.

Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in the world by volume consumed so any impact on beer crops will affect the amount brewed .

In recent years, the beer sector has consumed around a sixth - 17 per cent - of global barley production, but this share varies drastically across major beer-producing countries, for example from 83 per cent in Brazil to nine per cent in Australia.

During the most severe climate events, the results indicate that global beer consumption would decline by 16 per cent, or 29 billion litres - roughly equal to the total annual beer consumption in the US.

Even in less severe extreme events, beer consumption drops by 4 per cent and prices rise by 15 per cent.

Co-author Associate Professor of Earth system science Steven Davis of the University of California, Irvine, added: 'The world is facing many life-threatening impacts of climate change, so people having to spend a bit more to drink beer may seem trivial by comparison.

'But there is definitely a cross-cultural appeal to beer, and not having a cool pint at the end of an increasingly common hot day just adds insult to injury.'

The researchers suggest changes in barley supply due to extreme events will affect the barley available for making beer differently in each region, as the allocation of barley among livestock feed, beer brewing, and other uses will depend on region-specific prices and demand flexibilities as different industries seek to maximise profits.

Their findings show that global and country-level barley supply declines progressively in more severe extreme event years, with the largest mean supply decreasing by 27-38 per cent in some European countries, such as Belgium, the Czech Republic and Germany.